Martinez-Lopez, Joaquin

Abstract Introduction: Elranatamab (Elra) is a bispecific antibody (BsAb) targeting BCMA that is approved for patients with triple class exposed relapsed refractory myeloma (RRMM) on the basis of the MagnetisMM-3 phase 2 trial. For BCMA naïve patients, an overall response rate (ORR) of 61.0% and median progression free survival (PFS) of 17.2m was observed with a median overall survival (OS) of 24.6m. However, efficacy and safety information in the real world is lacking. Methods: This was an international retrospective study of patients with RRMM treated with Elra monotherapy outside of clinical trials. Data was collected through the International Myeloma Foundation Immunotherapy Database from 7 countries (UK, USA, Canada, Greece, Spain, Czech Republic and Singapore). High-risk cytogenetic abnormalities (HRCA) were defined as 1q+, t(4;14), t(14;16), t(14;20), and/or del(17p). Response was assessed using IMWG consensus criteria. Patient characteristics were summarized by frequency (percentage) or median (range). PFS, OS were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and reported with 95% confidence intervals. Results: 79 patients were included. Median age was 67 years (range: 41-95y) with 20% ≥75 years. Racial distribution was: 75% White, 16% Black/African American, 8% Asian/Pacific. 55% were ECOG performance status (PS) 1-2. Patients received a median of 5 prior lines (range 1-11), and 35% were BCMA exposed (9% CAR-T, 5% ADC, 7% BsAb, 8% BsAb plus CAR-T, 4% ADC plus BsAb). Of those with available data, 45% had HRCA,13% had extramedullary disease (EMD) and 32% had penta-drug refractory RRMM. Overall, 48% would not have been eligible for the MagnetisMM-3 trial. Median follow-up was 6.3m (range 0.5-35.0). ORR was 53% (PR 11%, VGPR 33%, CR 8%, sCR 1%) and 67% for BCMA naïve patients. Responses were significantly lower for BCMA exposed patients (ORR 31%) but did not differ by age (51% <75yrs vs 60% ≥75yrs). On univariate analysis, prior BCMA exposure, platelets <50, presence of HRCA and penta-refractoriness were significantly associated with a lower response rate. PFS for the whole cohort at 6 and 12m was 64% (95%CI, 54-77%) and 52% (40-67%); for BCMA naïve patients, it was 77% (65-90%) and 67% (54-84%), respectively. Within the whole cohort, PFS was shorter for: BCMA exposed (median 4.0m vs not reached (NR)), platelets <50 (2.0 vs 21.7m), HRCA (7.2m vs NR), penta-refractory (4.3m vs NR). PFS did not differ significantly by EMD, PS, age, or creatinine clearance. OS for the whole cohort at 6 and12m was 74% (64-85%) and 58% (45-74%); for BCMA-naïve patients, it was 80% (43-85%) and 70% (57-87%), respectively. Within the whole cohort, OS was shorter for: BCMA exposed (median 10.3m vs NR), platelets <50 (4.3m vs NR), HRCA (10.7m vs NR) and penta-refractory (10.3m vs NR). Univariate regression analysis demonstrated that prior BCMA exposure, platelets <50 and penta-refractoriness were significantly associated with a worse PFS and OS, and HRCA predicted poorer survival CRS was observed in 41% of patients (grade(G)1: 35%, G2: 5%, ≥G3: 0%) with most occurring with the first step up dose (SUD): SUD1: 29%, SUD2: 15%, full dose: 4%. Tocilizumab was used in 20% and steroids in 3%. ICANS was observed in 4 cases (5%): G1: 2, G2: 1, G4: 1. Treatment was with steroids (n=3) and tocilizumab (n=2). G3-4 thrombocytopenia was observed in 19% and 14% required platelet transfusions. G3-4 neutropenia occurred in 25% with overall 31% requiring GCSF. Infections were reported in 33 (42%) patients with median time to infection of 41 days. A total of 94 infection episodes were observed over 581 personal months. There were 2 infection-related deaths reported (1 had IVIG, 1 did not). 64% had hypogammaglobulinemia (IgG < 400mg/dl) and IVIG was given in 65% of patients. Conclusions: In this first international real world analysis, Elranatamab achieved a response rate of 67% and a 12m PFS of 67% in BCMA naïve patients, similar to the MagnetisMM-3 trial despite almost half not meeting trial eligibility. However, prior BCMA exposure, platelets <50, high risk cytogenetics and penta refractory status were predictors of poorer outcomes. Acknowledgements: The International Myeloma Foundation, International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG)

Despite significant improvements in survival of patients with multiple myeloma (MM), outcomes remain heterogeneous, and a significant proportion of patients experience suboptimal outcomes. Importantly, traditional prognostic factors based on data from patients treated with older therapies no longer capture prognosis accurately in the contemporary era of novel triplet or quadruplet therapies. Therefore, risk stratification requires refinement in the context of available and investigational treatment options in routine practice and clinical trials, respectively. The current identification of high-risk MM (HRMM) in routine practice is based on the Revised International Staging System, which stratifies patients using a combination of widely available serum biomarkers and chromosomal abnormalities assessed via fluorescence in situ hybridization. In recent years, a substantial body of evidence concerning additional clinical, biological, and molecular/genomic prognostic factors has accumulated, along with new MM risk stratification tools and consensus reports. The International Myeloma Society, along with the International Myeloma Working Group, convened an Expert Panel with the primary aim of revisiting the definition of HRMM and formulating a practical and data-driven consensus definition, based on new evidence from molecular/genomic assays, updated clinical data, and contemporary risk stratification concepts. The Panel proposes the following Consensus Genomic Staging (CGS) of HRMM which relies upon the presence of at least one of these abnormalities: (1) del(17p), with a cutoff of >20% clonal fraction, and/or TP53 mutation; (2) an IgH translocation including t(4;14), t(14;16), or t(14;20) along with 1q+ and/or del(1p32); (3) monoallelic del(1p32) along with 1q+ or biallelic del(1p32); or (4) β2 microglobulin ≥5.5 mg/L with normal creatinine (<1.2 mg/dL).

Multiple myeloma (MM) arises following malignant proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow, that secrete high amounts of specific monoclonal immunoglobulins or light chains, resulting in the massive production of unfolded or misfolded proteins. Autophagy can have a dual role in tumorigenesis, by eliminating these abnormal proteins to avoid cancer development, but also ensuring MM cell survival and promoting resistance to treatments. To date no studies have determined the impact of genetic variation in autophagy-related genes on MM risk. We performed meta-analysis of germline genetic data on 234 autophagy-related genes from three independent study populations including 13,387 subjects of European ancestry (6863 MM patients and 6524 controls) and examined correlations of statistically significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; p < 1 × 10−9) with immune responses in whole blood, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) from a large population of healthy donors from the Human Functional Genomic Project (HFGP). We identified SNPs in six loci, CD46, IKBKE, PARK2, ULK4, ATG5, and CDKN2A associated with MM risk (p = 4.47 × 10−4−5.79 × 10−14). Mechanistically, we found that the ULK4rs6599175 SNP correlated with circulating concentrations of vitamin D3 (p = 4.0 × 10−4), whereas the IKBKErs17433804 SNP correlated with the number of transitional CD24+CD38+ B cells (p = 4.8 × 10−4) and circulating serum concentrations of Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein (MCP)-2 (p = 3.6 × 10−4). We also found that the CD46rs1142469 SNP correlated with numbers of CD19+ B cells, CD19+CD3− B cells, CD5+IgD− cells, IgM− cells, IgD−IgM− cells, and CD4−CD8− PBMCs (p = 4.9 × 10−4−8.6 × 10−4) and circulating concentrations of interleukin (IL)-20 (p = 0.00082). Finally, we observed that the CDKN2Ars2811710 SNP correlated with levels of CD4+EMCD45RO+CD27− cells (p = 9.3 × 10−4). These results suggest that genetic variants within these six loci influence MM risk through the modulation of specific subsets of immune cells, as well as vitamin D3−, MCP-2−, and IL20-dependent pathways.

AbstractPleiotropy, which consists of a single gene or allelic variant affecting multiple unrelated traits, is common across cancers, with evidence for genome‐wide significant loci shared across cancer and noncancer traits. This feature is particularly relevant in multiple myeloma (MM) because several susceptibility loci that have been identified to date are pleiotropic. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify novel pleiotropic variants involved in MM risk using 28 684 independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from GWAS Catalog that reached a significant association (P < 5 × 10−8) with their respective trait. The selected SNPs were analyzed in 2434 MM cases and 3446 controls from the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium (InterLymph). The 10 SNPs showing the strongest associations with MM risk in InterLymph were selected for replication in an independent set of 1955 MM cases and 1549 controls from the International Multiple Myeloma rESEarch (IMMEnSE) consortium and 418 MM cases and 147 282 controls from the FinnGen project. The combined analysis of the three studies identified an association between DNAJB4‐rs34517439‐A and an increased risk of developing MM (OR = 1.22, 95%CI 1.13‐1.32, P = 4.81 × 10−7). rs34517439‐A is associated with a modified expression of the FUBP1 gene, which encodes a multifunctional DNA and RNA‐binding protein that it was observed to influence the regulation of various genes involved in cell cycle regulation, among which various oncogenes and oncosuppressors. In conclusion, with a pleiotropic scan approach we identified DNAJB4‐rs34517439 as a potentially novel MM risk locus.

Abstract The ELARA trial indicates tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) is an effective anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (r/r FL). As ELARA is a single-arm trial, this study compares tisa-cel outcomes from the ELARA trial with usual care from a real-world cohort. ELARA enrolled 98 patients as of 29 March 2021 (median follow-up: 15 months from enrollment). Usual care data were obtained from ReCORD-FL, a global retrospective study of patients with r/r FL, who met similar eligibility criteria to ELARA. With a data cutoff date of 31 December 2020, 187 patients with ≥2 preceding treatment lines were included in the ReCORD-FL (median follow-up: 57 months from third-line) study. An indirect treatment comparison was performed for 97 patients from the ELARA trial and 143 patients from the ReCORD-FL study with no missing data on baseline factors. The line of therapy for which outcomes were assessed was selected or matched between cohorts using propensity score modeling. After baseline factor adjustment via weighting by odds, complete response rate (CRR; 95% confidence interval) was 69.1% (59.8%-78.3%) for tisa-cel vs. 37.3% (26.4%-48.3%) for usual care; overall response rate was 85.6% (78.7%-92.5%) vs. 63.6% (52.5%-74.7%). Kaplan-Meier probability of being progression/event-free at 12 months was 70.5% (61.4%-79.7%) for tisa-cel vs. 51.9% (40.6%-63.3%) for usual care, with hazard ratio (HR)=0.60 (0.34-0.86); 12-month overall survival was 96.6% (92.9%-100%) vs. 71.7% (61.2%-82.2%), with HR=0.2 (0.02-0.38). In conclusion, tisa-cel was associated with a 1.9-fold higher complete response rate and a 1.4-fold higher rate of being progression or event free at 12 months vs usual care, as well as a death risk reduction of 80%. The findings provide additional evidence on the benefit of tisa-cel in patients with r/r FL after ≥2 treatment lines. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03568461

Abstract Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of multiple myeloma in populations of European ancestry (EA) identified and confirmed 24 susceptibility loci. For other cancers (e.g., colorectum and melanoma), risk loci have also been associated with patient survival. Methods: We explored the possible association of all the known risk variants and their polygenic risk score (PRS) with multiple myeloma overall survival (OS) in multiple populations of EA [the International Multiple Myeloma rESEarch (IMMEnSE) consortium, the International Lymphoma Epidemiology consortium, CoMMpass, and the German GWAS] for a total of 3,748 multiple myeloma cases. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to assess the association between each risk SNP with OS under the allelic and codominant models of inheritance. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, country of origin (for IMMEnSE) or principal components (for the others) and disease stage (ISS). SNP associations were meta-analyzed. Results: SNP associations were meta-analyzed. From the meta-analysis, two multiple myeloma risk SNPs were associated with OS (P &lt; 0.05), specifically POT1-AS1-rs2170352 [HR = 1.37; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.09–1.73; P = 0.007] and TNFRSF13B-rs4273077 (HR = 1.19; 95% CI = 1.01–1.41; P = 0.04). The association between the combined 24 SNP MM-PRS and OS, however, was not significant. Conclusions: Overall, our results did not support an association between the majority of multiple myeloma risk SNPs and OS. Impact: This is the first study to investigate the association between multiple myeloma PRS and OS in multiple myeloma.

AbstractGene expression profiling can be used for predicting survival in multiple myeloma (MM) and identifying patients who will benefit from particular types of therapy. Some germline single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) act as expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) showing strong associations with gene expression levels. We performed an association study to test whether eQTLs of genes reported to be associated with prognosis of MM patients are directly associated with measures of adverse outcome. Using the genotype‐tissue expression portal, we identified a total of 16 candidate genes with at least one eQTL SNP associated with their expression with P < 10−7 either in EBV‐transformed B‐lymphocytes or whole blood. We genotyped the resulting 22 SNPs in 1327 MM cases from the International Multiple Myeloma rESEarch (IMMEnSE) consortium and examined their association with overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS), adjusting for age, sex, country of origin and disease stage. Three polymorphisms in two genes (TBRG4‐rs1992292, TBRG4‐rs2287535 and ENTPD1‐rs2153913) showed associations with OS at P < .05, with the former two also associated with PFS. The associations of two polymorphisms in TBRG4 with OS were replicated in 1277 MM cases from the International Lymphoma Epidemiology (InterLymph) Consortium. A meta‐analysis of the data from IMMEnSE and InterLymph (2579 cases) showed that TBRG4‐rs1992292 is associated with OS (hazard ratio = 1.14, 95% confidence interval 1.04‐1.26, P = .007). In conclusion, we found biologically a plausible association between a SNP in TBRG4 and OS of MM patients.

Abstract The primary cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) is an infection. Therefore, there is great concern about susceptibility to the outcome of COVID-19–infected patients with MM. This retrospective study describes the baseline characteristics and outcome data of COVID-19 infection in 650 patients with plasma cell disorders, collected by the International Myeloma Society to understand the initial challenges faced by myeloma patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyses were performed for hospitalized MM patients. Among hospitalized patients, the median age was 69 years, and nearly all patients (96%) had MM. Approximately 36% were recently diagnosed (2019-2020), and 54% of patients were receiving first-line therapy. Thirty-three percent of patients have died, with significant geographic variability, ranging from 27% to 57% of hospitalized patients. Univariate analysis identified age, International Staging System stage 3 (ISS3), high-risk disease, renal disease, suboptimal myeloma control (active or progressive disease), and 1 or more comorbidities as risk factors for higher rates of death. Neither history of transplant, including within a year of COVID-19 diagnosis, nor other anti-MM treatments were associated with outcomes. Multivariate analysis found that only age, high-risk MM, renal disease, and suboptimal MM control remained independent predictors of adverse outcome with COVID-19 infection. The management of MM in the era of COVID-19 requires careful consideration of patient- and disease-related factors to decrease the risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection, while not compromising disease control through appropriate MM treatment. This study provides initial data to develop recommendations for the management of MM patients with COVID-19 infection.

Abstract BACKGROUND: The first step to the cure of Multiple myeloma (MM) is achieving a clinical complete response (CR). However, a majority of patients relapse in part due to the persistence of low levels of pathological plasma cells after treatment (minimal residual disease (MRD)). In previous work, we have shown that Next generation sequencing (NGS) of immunoglobulin (IG) rearranged genes is an effective technology to identify and quantify pathological clonal cells in MM, and also it is a good predictor of patient prognosis. However, this technology is a proprietary multiplex PCR, uses a reference plasmid, it is performed at the centralized laboratories, and it is not broadly available. AIMS: To present a new in-house simplified method for quantification of IG gene clonal rearrangements by NGS. To test the suitability of the method for MRD detection in MM patients compared with 8-color high sensitivity Flow Cytometry (8c-MFC) data on a prospective way. To determine its capability as a predictor of patient prognosis. METHOD: We use deep sequencing to prospectively analyzed DNA from bone marrow samples of 58 patients (58 diagnostic samples and 80 follow-up samples) of patients included the GEM10 clinical trial. The method employs the primers developed by BIOMED-2 for IGH and IGK, and a set of specific mathematical and bioinformatics tools. First, we identified the clonal rearrangement(s) (clonotype) in the diagnostic sample by fragment analysis and NGS. Second, we searched the NGS sequences from follow-up samples to detect and quantitate (MRD) the presence of the clonotype identified in the diagnostic sample. Overall Survival (OS) and Progression free Survival (PFS) were estimated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The survival curves generated were compared with the log-rank test for trend. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the method is 10-5 for 150.000 cells. Reproducibility is >90%. The Spearman correlation coefficient between NGS and 8c-MFC data for diagnosis and follow-up samples was R=0.6903, p<0.0001. When we applied the criteria of 10-5 for NGS, discordant results were as follow: 121 cases were positive by both methods, 2 cases were positive (>10-5) by 8c-MFC but negative (<10-5) by NGS; 7 samples were negative (<10-5) by 8c-MFC but positive (>10-5) by NGS; and 7 cases were negative by both methods. Next we analyzed de correlation of OS and PFS with MRD levels determined by NGS and by 8c-MFC. For NGS data, median PFS (FigA) was 34 months for patients with values of MRD>10-5 vs not reached for patients with values of MRD<10-5 (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.69, P =0 .0109). Also, for 8c-MFC data, the patients with values of MRD<10-5 had longer PFS than those with values of MRD>10-5 (34 months versus 47; HR = 3.69, P =0 .0109). Median OS (FigB) was also significantly longer in MRD<10-5 (NGS) patients (not yet reached), compared to MRD>10-5 (NGS) patients (41 months, HR = 3.6, P =0.0495). For 8c-MFC we did not get a significant association (41 vs 50 months, HR=1.979, p=0.228). It should be noted that this comparison was made with the standard 8c-MFC and it is probable that the sensitivity will be inferior to that of the Next generation flow. There were no significant differences in terms of PFS between the data obtained by our in-house method, 8c-FCM and previous data obtained with LymphoSight technology. CONCLUSIONS: Our data confirms that analysis of MRD levels determined by deep sequencing is capable of predict survival outcomes in myeloma patients. NGS sequencing of Ig genes is an effective technology to identify and quantify pathological clonal cells in MM. This approach is a methodological and economical alternative to MFC and other methods for MRD follow-up. Figure 1. Figure 1. Disclosures Paiva: Janssen: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; BD Bioscience: Consultancy; Sanofi: Consultancy; Binding Site: Consultancy; Onyx: Consultancy; Millenium: Consultancy; EngMab AG: Research Funding. Ocio:Pharmamar: Consultancy, Research Funding; MSD: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Mundipharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Amgen/Onyx: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Array BioPharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Jassen: Honoraria. Mateos:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy; Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria; Onyx: Consultancy. San Miguel:Novartis: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Janssen-Cilag: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Millennium: Honoraria; Onyx: Honoraria; Sanofi-Aventis: Honoraria.

Abstract Background. The AML is a heterogeneous disease with a high variety of subtypes stratified by cytogenetic and molecular markers. To date, the major prognosis criteria is cytogenetic, but 40-50% of de novo AML patients have normal karyotype; AML treatment is based on risk profiles depending on age and genetic molecular factor. New methods such as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and ex vivo sensitivity drug tests might be able to improve this classification and to individualize the treatment for AML patients. Aims. We performed targeted massively parallel sequencing on a 32 myeloid genes custom panel to identify a mutational profile of AML which predicts ex vivo pharmacological and clinical response. Methods. We analyzed bone marrow (BM) samples at diagnosis from 39 AML patients, 34 were treated with chemotherapy; 28 AML patients received one cycle of Idarubicin (Ida)/ Cytarabine(Cyt) induction treatment (3+7) and 8 received one cycle of Fludarabine/Cyt. Median age at diagnosis was 53 years (24-81), male:female ratio 19:16. We carried out targeted gene sequencing by NGS (Ion Torrent Proton System-Life Technologies) using a 32 genes custom panel (all coding regions) implicated in leukemia prognosis, including ASXL1, CBL, DNMT3A, EPOR, ETV6, EZH2, FLT3, HRAS, IDH1, IDH2, JAK2, KDM6A, KIT, KRAS, LNK, MLL, MPL, NRAS, PHF6, PRPF40B, PTEN, RUNX1, SF1, SF3A1, SF3B1, SRSF2, TET2, TP53, U2AF35, VHL, ZRSR2 and CALR. Ex vivo pharmacological studies were performed using an innovative automated flow cytometry method based platform (Ex-viTech) is able to evaluate effect of drugs used to treat AML, Cyt and Ida, using 4 parameter: Emax (Effective Maximum Response) measures potency, EC50 (Effective Concentration inducing 50% cell death) measures efficacy, and the activity was quantified by AUC (Area Under Curve) and VUS (Volume Under Superficies). Clinical response was evaluated after induction treat. Complete remission was defined according to hematologic recovery and blast count fewer than 5%. Analysis of NGS results was performed by Ion Report software. Differences measured by Exvitech were determined using t-test or Kruskal-Wallis test. Discrete variables of patients with and without gene variants were compared using the X2 test. For survival analysis we used Kaplan-Meier analysis (log rank) using SPSS 15. Two sided p values below 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results. We found 94 non-synonymous variants (SNVs and small Indels) in coding regions. On average, 90.8% of the target sequence showed mean depth coverage ~ 1100x. See Figure 1. We analyzed results of pharmacological test by Ex-viTech plataform in function of presence of gene variants. Only significant favorable differences were detected: KRAS (Cyt-Emax p=0,000, Ida-EC50 p=0.001, VUS p=0.003, Cyt-AUC p=0.036, Ida-AUC p=0.000), KIT (VUS p=0,010) and FLT3-TKD (Cyt-Emax p=0.002, Cyt-AUC p=0.001, VUS p=0.011). Mutational positive score, found it in 40% of patients, was defined by the presence of variants in KRAS, KIT and/or FLT3-TKD; it was correlated with pharmacological results and clinical response. All cases with positive score (n=13) achieve complete remission (CR); only 11 cases without favorable score (n=21) achieve RC (p=0.003) after induction treatment (See Table 2). In addition, response obtained for Ida Emax and Ida EC50 by Ex-viTech was able to detect patients who reached CR after induction treatment (p=0.042, p=0,039 respectively). Ex-viTech results showed that patients with positive score have a significantly more potent and effective cytotoxic effect than patients without it. See table 2. No differences were observed respect Overall Survival (OS) between cases with mutational favorable score and without it. However, we observed a plateau in OS with favorable mutational score. With a median follow-up of 5.9 months (1.9-25.74), patients having positive score showed better relapse free survival (p = 0.013). See Figure 3. Conclusion. Very deep sequencing NGS identifies a mutational profile score (KRAS, KIT or FLT3-TKD) in AML patients, which predicts ex vivo pharmacological and clinical response. This favorable score was found in 40% of AML patients. Merging NGS and ex vivo drug sensibility might be able early to predict response to induction and individualize treatments. This study was funded by Instituto Carlos III (PI13/02387). Disclosures Ballesteros: Vivia Biotech: Employment.